Australia beat Pakistan on Tuesday as master batsman Steve Smith stroked a faultless unbeaten 80. Smith the master batsman stroked a faultless unbeaten 80 off 51 balls to guide Australia to Pakistan’s modest total of 6/150
Australia are unstoppable. In a format they have historically struggled to come to grips with, no less. They have been rampant in each of the completed games in their home summer so far. It’s more proof of the value of being able to identify specialists at a time when the three formats are becoming increasingly distant in terms of the skills they require, and of building a squad with well-defined roles.
Australia’s batting has been so dominant with the addition of Smith and Warner that Alex Carey, nominally batting at No.6, has yet to face a ball since their return.
With Glenn Maxwell absent from the team as he deals with a mental health issue, veteran Pakistan quick Wahab Riaz believes there is a level of vulnerability in Australia’s middle order of Ashton Turner, Ben McDermott and Carey.
“Warner and Smith, they are world-class batsmen and we know they are very destructive as well,” Wahab told reporters on Thursday